While mugs of various sorts have been used for centuries, the last decade or two has seen a phenomenal increase in the popularity of so-called "travel mugs".
A typical travel mug includes an open-topped vessel which is capped with a lid. The lid is removable to allow a beverage to be placed within the vessel and typically has one sip hole along with a diametrically opposite vent hole. With the lid in place, the beverage may be consumed by tipping the vessel such that the beverage flows out of the sip hole into the mouth of the user. Ambient air enters the mug through the vent hole to replace the volume of the beverage consumed by the user.
These mugs are quite popular in that the presence of the lid prevents the beverage from sloshing out of the vessel as spillage. Further, the lids are normally designed so that the sip holes are at a lower most point in a recess in the upper surface of the lid so that any beverage that inadvertently escapes the vessel will normally be received within the recess of the lid and drain back into the vessel. As a consequence of this type of construction, travel mugs are ideally suited for use by pedestrians as well as occupants of a vehicle. Sloshing beverage as a result of the up and down and/or side-to-side movements of a walking pedestrian is captivated by the lid as is sloshing of the vessel contents as a result of movement of a vehicle.
Such vessels are not without certain drawbacks and/or irritations in use. For example, the presence of but a single sip hole makes it imperative that mug be oriented by the user so that the sip hole is at the lower most edge of the lid. If this is not done, it is possible that the beverage will not be dispensed from the vessel or, when dispensed, may start its flow suddenly and cause spillage on the user.
Another difficulty encountered with many travel mugs is the fact that the lid may become loose, allowing leakage between the lid and the vessel, again to the surprise of the user. In extreme cases, the lid may even become detached from the vessel which quite clearly is highly undesirable when one is attempting to dispense a beverage from the vessel.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the above problems.